God Goes to the County Fair.

It’s supposed to be fun.

It’s all supposed to be fun.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about life. Life is supposed to be fun.

And, I don’t just mean my life and your life. I mean all life, all existence, the universe, the stars, the sun and everything else. I believe that it’s all playful.

Why else would it exist?

Wouldn’t it have been easier for none of this to exist?

Why did it all happen?

I’m not sure if we, as a human race, will ever know why we are alive or why the universe exists.

However, I am pretty sure I can tell you what the reason is NOT.

We do not exist to be miserable. Your life is not meant to “suck.”

Why would all of this be created for millions of years just so we can suffer?

It would have been so much easier for us to never exist, rather than finally perishing after eighty-odd years of torment.

There are a few ways this topic should be sliced.

One aspect: Was existence was created by an intelligent force, or did everything you’ve ever seen begin at random, as a freak accident, with a long evolution following.

The second aspect: If there was an intelligent force, was its intention for life an expression of good, bad or just neutral?

If all existence began out of nowhere, then your experience (good or bad, happy or sad) isn’t a consideration at all. By definition, a random assortment can not have a plan or a bias in any way. Random means random. Meaningless means meaningless. If all of existence is just a coincidental folly then there is no possible way that your existence was meant to be unpleasant. Because, it wasn’t MEANT to be anything. It was random.

The evolution that would have followed our coincidental beginnings also tells us that your experience was not meant to be a bother.  If we and everything else evolved over time, then we evolved together. The human story adapted to our environment’s story, step by step. Every living thing must have changed to match the changes on earth and in the universe. Why would a being be miserable in a world that they have evolved to inhabit? It wouldn’t.

However coincidental and meaningless you might believe the existence of the universe to be, you have still been brought up in this existence, as a part of this existence and, you would think, would have adapted to this existence. Are you sure you are truly uncomfortable in your daily life?

Since you have grandparents and great grandparents and generations going back for millennia, we can say that your species/bloodline is successful. It is plodding along nicely. Generation after generation is born, lives and reproduces.

If you were born to suffer that so were lions, deer, elephants and chipmunks. My point is that, although every living creature experiences challenges, those challenges are not insurmountable. Just about every species on earth overcomes the challenge every time. Because, if you’re species is not extinct, that means you’ve won. You’ve lived. This does not sound like something meant to suffer. In fact, this implies that the human creature (and every creature) was meant to succeed.

If you feel that there is an intelligent creator of it all, and that the creator is playing a sadistic game, I think we need to have a longer discussion, maybe one on one. Can you, honestly, look around you or examine the last month of your life and say that life and the universe are inherently bad? If your answer is yes then it might be a result of something outside of your control. It might be a good idea to seek a little help from the people around you.

I know that many people are currently enduring hardships or might be reading from a part of the world where unpleasantness is the norm. But, for the (ultra-large) majority of us it should be obvious that there is at least a modicum of goodness on this planet.

Could an intelligent force have created everything as an enormous torture device?

I suppose anything is possible.

But then, why is the universe expanding? Why are things evolving? Why is growth such an integral part of life all around the universe? Are orchids, puppies and the end of It’s a Wonderful Life really a part of something sinister?

I am confident that if you look at a smiling baby it will be hard for you to claim that life and the universe is bad or, at least, completely bad.

Another possibility is that, if an intelligent force exists, it created it all for fun. Just as you do things for fun and expansion, this intelligence could have done the same. This would imply that life is a play thing. This would mean that the point of it all is enjoyment. Maybe it is.

There is no law that states that human beings HAD to exist. You, yourself, didn’t have to be born. The fact that you wake and bathe and eat and work every day is entirely irrelevant to anything in the big scheme of everything. There is no REASON for any of it, the universe, earth, you, me, the Super Bowl or, even, Memorial Day Weekend (my favorite). The Big Bang did not NEED to happen. Our Sun and Moon didn’t NEED to exist.

If you go to the doctor, you go to fix (or prevent) a problem. I cannot think of a problem that was solved by the creation of our universe. If you go to the County Fair, you go for fun. You were perfectly “fine” without going. The County Fair was an addition to your life. You went to the County Fair to experience something new and the Universe is one heck of a County Fair!

To frame this argument in summary, it makes most sense that the existence of life and the universe was either a random occurrence which is neutral (although oddly beautiful) or an expression of fun and vivacity by an intelligent power.

We might never know which one of these options is the answer or if I am completely wrong. But, what’s plain to me, and the point of this piece, is that life isn’t here to be a hassle. If you feel that “life sucks,” I hope that a new perspective can help you feel better. And, it’s always wise to seek professional help if things seem to slipping out of your control. Because, regardless of why the world exists, I know that there are a lot of people in this world that would love to help you.

Burak Uzun is an award-winning writer and a Certified Meditation Teacher.

Burak Uzun also co-wrote a feature film called Team Marco, which was featured in over fifty film festivals around the globe and was distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Please feel free to reach out to Burak here.

Learn more about SOCA LLC and Burak’s classes here.